The Road to Damascus
by Winter's Light Blossom
Summary: Summary to come later. Rating liable to change. Eliot/OFC. Starts off in the middle of action. Will have flashbacks in later chapters. Chapters will be published slowly for the time being.
1. In Like Flynn

**The Road to Damascus**

**.:In Like Flynn:.**

"Everyone in position?" Nate's voice rang through the earpiece that each member of his team had in their ear. He walked through the front entrance of the building wearing his sleek white tux and slicked back hair.

"All set outside." Hardison replied from where he sat in his van, parked outside the skyscraper. He looked out the window at the building and gave a smirk. "He has no idea what's comin'."

"All ready to go." I piped up with a smile on my lips and hands clutching my handbag. I showed my invitation to one of the doormen and walked inside the banquet hall. "Wow. We so have to throw one of these someday."

"Eh, no. Too many people." Parker whispered as she picked up a tray filled with champagne.

"In position." Eliot replied as he shoved his hands into his suit jacket pockets and walked further into the room.

"We're all good, Nate." Sophie was the last to reply as she stepped into the party. She wore a dress of shimmering gold that swayed as she went.

"Then let's do this." Nate smiled and walked towards the bar at the back of the room. He leaned on the counter of the bar and looked around the room from over his shoulders. "Someone get eyes on our gracious host."

Tonight was the Sixth Annual Banquet Ball of Clark Enterprises. The company was a very important and very wealthy enterprise that not only embezzled money, but also sold weapons and security under the table to foreign countries. Very hostile and very angry foreign countries.

"I spy with my little eye something corrupt and utterly clueless." I said with my smile turning into a grin as I caught a glimpse of the mark; Alan Clark, CEO and founder of Clark Enterprises. "He has absolutely no idea what's about to happen."

I passed him and picked his wallet from his back pocket with ease. I opened it and looked through it. After finishing with his credit cards I flipped through the photos he had; his kids, his wife, parents and siblings. My walking slowed a bit as I looked over the family photo.

"_Leona_." Nate drew out my name slowly. I looked up from the wallet and looked around to find where he was. There was no way he could have seen me pick up Clark's wallet or could see me now looking through it. "Put it back, Leona."

"Such a party pooper..." I sighed and headed back to Clark. I passed behind him again and slid his wallet back into his pocket.

"Good girl." Nate replied as he waved the barkeeper down. "Now, keep an eye on him, but don't get too close. I don't want him to recognize you."

"Aye, aye o'capitan." I replied, giving him a mock salute before following Mr. Clark around the party. I took notice to all the people around. They were moguls, most of them, but you couldn't tell which was which just by looking. They were all dressed up; men in tuxes and the women in fancy ball gowns. I liked it. All of it. Not just the ball or the fancy dress and heels I wore, but the work we were doing.

I looked around the room and caught the position of the other members of the team. Nate at the bar in his white tux. Sophie talking to a group of young men who were all but drooling over her. Parker walking around with a tray of drinks and dressed up as a waitress. Eliot keeping an old, promiscuous widow entertained while looking around the room in search of an escape. I couldn't help but give a small laugh and shake my head.

Despite what it may have looked like on the surface, we were helping people. The little guys, the innocent people who had been wronged or taken advantage of. We were criminals, all of us, even Nathan Ford, but we were the only ones who were able to work the system in a way no one else could. It was something that felt familiar, the work, but then again it felt different. It felt good doing the right thing for once. I wanted to help people. I had always wanted to help, but that hadn't been a choice for me in the beginning. I had been forced into the life of a criminal and I didn't want to go back. I would do anything to not have to go back.

"Leona, do you have eyes on Clark?" Nate's voice broke me from my thoughts. I looked around myself and found Clark talking with some of his investors.

"Yeah. He's by the east wall talking with his investors." I replied and sat down at a table near him. I looked around the room for a waitresses to grab a drink, but none were around. I looked at the glasses on the table and then reached for a glass that sat half empty. I looked it over and then raised it to my nose, sniffing it to identify what it was.

_Blush Pink Champagne..._

I took a sip of the room temperature drink and had to force myself to swallow. I pulled the glass from my lips and scowled at it before setting it down on the table. I picked up a spoon and turned it over to the rounded back. I titled it some and watched Clark's reflection on it.

"He's alone." I spoke as I stood up from the table. I picked up my clutch and walked away.

"Sophie, you're on." Nate spoke as he picked up his glass of scotch. Sophie made her way through the mass of people and to Alan Clark, who stood alone with a glass of bourbon in his hand. There she began her grift. She laughed at something he said, playfully slapped his shoulder and plucked his id badge. She then passed it along to Parker and Parker then handed it off to me. I headed towards the door of the banquet hall with the id in hand.

"You know what to do, Leona." Nate turned around and leaned his back against the bar. I gave a small laugh and walked off with the id badge in hand. I walked towards Eliot and passed him, but not before sneaking in a comment.

"You always look so adorable in your glasses." I gave him a wink and walked on, missing the smile that crossed his lips. I walked out the doors of the banquet hall and quickly hid in a corner. I pulled my phone from my clutch and scanned the id badge with my phone.

"Got it." Hardison assured me, pulling up the id on his computer screen. I placed my phone back into my clutch and headed back towards the party.

"Hiding are we?" A voice caught my ears and made me look up from nearly tripping over the bottom of my dress. A man with dark brown hair and green eyes stood before me with his hands behind his back. He looked familiar, but I couldn't place where or why.

"Uh, yeah. I just needed a break." I laughed and looked down at the ground, playing the coy girl out of her element. "It can be... a little much in large doses I'm finding."

"I know how you feel. It's my first ball too." The man laughed warmly and then outstretched his hand to me. "Walt Collins. I'm a software developer."

"Ah, one of Clark's backroom boys. Glad to see he's giving you some fresh air." I took his hand and shook. I smiled as genuinely as I could and took my hand back. "I'm Nora Flynn."

"Care for a drink, Mrs. Flynn?" He asked and held out his arm to me. I gave a small laugh and raised my left hand, showing off my ring finger. He gave a mischievous smile. "My mistake. Care for a drink, _Miss _Flynn?"

"I may need more than one if I plan to make it through the rest of the night." I replied and took his arm. "Especially if it's free."

If I hadn't been so close I never would have heard it. I picked my head up, eyes coming to rest on his face and knitted my eyebrows together while smiling.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, it's just something someone I knew used to say; in like Flynn." He replied and smiled back down at me.

"I used to know someone who would say that too." I laughed wholeheartedly. It was a strange coincidence, but it made me feel more comfortable. I had heard the phrase for the first time a long while back when I was a child. It brought back memories both happy and painful.

I allowed this man to walk me through groups of people and managed to hand off the id badge to Parker, who then took it back to Sophie. The plan was going as smoothly as we had hoped despite the mysterious hiccup named Walt.

"Uh, Leona you're fine where you are. Parker, get out of peoples' pockets." Nate commanded as he looked around the room. I normally would have growled internally at him, but this Walt was a real charmer and he was so familiar. "Hardison start on changing the guards' shifts around."

"You're drink." Walt handed me a glass of champagne; my least favorite drink. I smiled graciously and took it from him.

"Why thank you." I took a sip, holding back my want to gag. It seemed like champagne and cheap wine were the only drinks I would be having tonight.

"I was able to hold off the rounds for fifteen minutes." Hardison spoke up, his fingers clicking away on his keyboard.

"Parker, Eliot; get to Clark's office." Nate set his glass down on the bar and waved the barkeeper down once more.

"You guys are gonna have to use the stairs till you get to the tenth floor. Then you can use the associate elevator." Hardison's fingers ceased their ministrations. "Alright. You guys are in the clear. I got the guards to check out a 'disturbance' a few floors below."

"Right. On it." Eliot replied and passed by me. I quickly passed him my phone with Clark's id scanned into it. Parker met him at the door to the stairwell and soon they were running up the stairs towards the tenth floor where they could safely use the id badge for the elevator.

"So, are you from Chicago or just visiting?" Walt asked before he took a sip of his drink. I gave a smile.

"Just visiting. Flew in from Raleigh this morning." I replied and took a large gulp of her champagne. I tuned the man out for the moment and looked around the room, spotting Sophie with Clark and Nate at the bar.

"Nora?" Walt asked, but I didn't respond. "Nora?"

"Uh, Nora. I think you're boyfriend's calling you." Nate did all he could not to laugh as he watched I looked back at the man.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" I smiled as sweetly as she could, gently touching his arm for a brief moment.

"I asked what you did for a living." Walt replied giving me a small smile.

"We're at the elevator." Eliot's voice came through the earpiece.

"Hurry up so we can get out of here." I whispered, turning my head away from Walt, who had begun giving me his life story.

"Easy for you to say. You don't have to run up ten flights of stairs." Eliot growled at me, breath heavy. "Get back to your boy-toy."

"Shut up, man-whore." I scoffed playfully.

"What?" I froze and looked back at Walt

"Huh?" Iasked, hoping he hadn't heard what I had said.

"Did you... did you call me a 'man-whore'?" Walt asked with a smile on his lips and a laugh threatening to spill from his throat.

"What? No. Of course not. I said," I fell short a moment. My eyes darted behind Walt at the wall where a painting sat. There I found my save. "I said... _manticore_. You know, like the mythical creature? Body of a lion, head of a man with the tail of a scorpion?"

"Oh! I was so sure you had called me a man-whore." Walt laughed along with me.

"Nice save." Hardison commented as he watched the security cameras pulled up on his screen.

"So is that what you do? " Walt asked, the conversation returning to a comfortable place. "Mythology I mean. Are you a historian or something?"

"Not exactly. Mythology is more of a," I paused with a near grin on my face, "more like a hobby of mine."

"Well done, young grasshopper." Hardison laughed as he watched the party from his van. When Walt turned his attention to the food on the table I took my chance and looked at the nearest security camera and gave Hardison a thumbs up.

"Parker and I are at the tenth floor now." Eliot whispered as he peeked out from the door into the darkened hall. He quickly retracted himself back into the stairwell when he saw a light coming from around the corner. "Hardison...! I thought you said you cleared the floor...!"

"I did! I-I set off a silent alarm to a lab three floors below!" Hardison yelled back, typing away on his keyboard. I tilted my head slightly to the left, eardrum pounding from Hardison's outburst. I gently touched the earpiece and gave a laugh, trying to keep up my visage with Walt.

"None of the guards are on that floor!" Hardison yelled again as he watched the grid that showed where each security guard was at the moment. None were on the tenth floor. "There shouldn't be anyone there!"

"Well _someone _is sneaking around up here." Eliot whispered back as he peered through the small window on the door. Once the light had disappeared Eliot and Parker snuck out from the stairwell and made it to the associate elevator. From there it was a piece of cake. Eliot and Parker rode the elevator to the top floor. Eliot swiped Clark's badge to unlock his office door. Parker picked the lock on the safe and took the external hard drive with records of every transaction of illegal selling of firearms and security to foreign countries. That would bring down Clark and everyone involved in his arms deals with him.

"Alright. Pack it up." Nate ordered, down the last of his drink. He looked around the banquet hall. "Meet in the back parking lot in ten minutes."

"Got it." I replied and downed the last of my drink. I got sight of a waiter carrying drinks and swapped my empty glass for a new one. I quickly downed the glass, cheeks full with the bitter liquid.

"Wow, you were serious when you said more than one." Walt gave a small laugh and took a sip of his half full glass of bourbon. I smiled at him and nodded my head, tipping my empty glass at him.

"Yeah. Uh, I'm gonna go use the little girl's room. I'll," I faltered a short moment. My head felt funny; hazy almost. I placed my empty glass on the food table and gave him a small smile, "I'll be back. Don't you go anywhere."

I smiled at him and then took off towards the doors of the banquet hall. I took a deep breath and shook my head as I headed for the bathroom. Something was wrong. I didn't feel right. My stomach hurt and I was beginning to get a cold sweat. I walked into the bathroom and went to the first open door I saw, which was the last in the row of stalls. I closed the door, locked it and slipped to my knees. I leaned my head against the wooden door and placed a finger on my earpiece, turning it off. The last thing I wanted was for the others to hear me throw up.

I pulled a hairband from my clutch and tied my hair back. I placed my clutch on the floor and moved closer to the toilet, accidentally kicking my clutch beneath the tiled wall into another stall. It wasn't long before I felt the tingles in my hands begin and after another moment I was leaning over the toilet. I didn't throw up. At least not because my stomach wanted me to.

"When did someone drug me...?"

* * *

><p>Sophie finished up with Clark, rolling her eyes at what he had said to her and slipped away. She made her way to the stairwell and took a deep breath, shaking her head. She made her way down the stairs with her heels clicking as she went. She stepped outside with Eliot and Parker appearing a moment after her. Hardison drove up and parked the van, opening the back doors and jumping down onto the pavement. They all circled around and looked to each other.<p>

"Here's the drive." Eliot handed Nate the drive and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Can't we just-"

"No." Each one of them cut Parker off, knowing what she wanted to do. She gave a small pout and looked to the ground, shoving her hands into her pockets

"We came for the hard drive and only the hard drive." Nate responded as he looked over the drive. Eliot flipped his hair out of his face and looked around at the others. He looked behind him as Nate went on. "Now all we have to do is-"

"Anyone seen Leo?" Eliot asked as he turned back from staring at the door he and Parker had come out of. Nate fell short as he lifted his gaze. His eyes went from one member of his team to the next as though counting.

"Last I saw her she was talking to that handsome fellow by the buffet." Sophie commented and looked around the group. "And drinking some bad champagne."

"I didn't see her in the stairwell." Parker offered, looking around the group. Nate raised a hand to his ear and touched the earpiece.

"Leona, where are you?" Nate looked at the ground and waited a moment, but nothing came back. He looked up and stared at Sophie who stood across from him in the circle. "Leona? Can you hear me?"

Hardison walked away from the group and climbed into the van. He pulled up the security feed and looked to see where Leona was. Then he looked to see if her earpiece was still on.

"I can't get a location on her. Her earpiece is off." Hardison spoke up as the others moved to the back of the van.

"No one saw her leave the banquet hall?" Nate asked and climbed into the van, looking at the screen over Hardison's shoulder. "Hardison?"

"I didn't see her leave. Then again I wasn't really watching her." Hardison replied and watched for the bleep that would blink blue with her name over it, but it never showed. "She's not coming up on the grid."

"Uh, alright. Pull up the video feed." Nate leaned a hand on the small metal desk attached to the side of the van. Hardison typed something into his computer and soon the video feed of the party was up on the screen. Hardison switched back and forth from one security camera to the next, but there was no sign of Leona.

"Why don't we just call her?" Parker piped up, looking from one person to the next. Eliot's face contorted and he angrily shoved a hand into his pants pocket and pulled forth a phone.

"Because I have her phone Parker." Eliot growled, annoyed with her. "We needed it to get into the elevator, remember?"

"Oh..." Parker sighed and looked away from him. Eliot shook his head and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

"Something's not right." Nate mumbled to himself and ran a hand over his mouth. He moved to the open back of the van and hopped down. "Eliot, Parker;, Sophie you're with me."

"What are we doing?" Parker asked as she, Eliot and Sophie looked at each other. They followed after Nate as he walked to the back door of the building.

"We're going to split up." Nate replied and opened the door. "Find her."

* * *

><p>Thank you for the reviews! They were very helpful. Unfortunetly though there aren't any beta's that speak English who will do a Leverage story. If anyone is up to the task, then please send me a message or write it in a review.<p>

By the way, the phrase "The Road to Damascus" means the occasion or circumstance of changing one's allegiance or belief and "In Like Flynn" means taking instant advantage of any chance opprotunityor gaining access to something as desired.


	2. The Red Herring

**The Road to Damascus**

**.:The Red Herring:.**

Eliot looked around the room of high class moguls again. His light blue eyes darted from right to left, but he was having a hard time focusing on anything. There were too many people, too many voices and distractions. The search for the missing member of the team was proving to be futile. It had been fifteen minutes and so far not one of them had caught sight of Leona yet. She was just gone. No where to be found and no trace left behind.

"Parker, you seen Leo yet?" Eliot asked, doing a sweep of the banquet hall with his eyes again. Eliot's eyes narrowed when he didn't get a reply. "Parker, quit picking peoples' pockets!"

"Huh? What?" Parker immediately snapped out of her pickpocketing and looked around for who had called her name.

"Do you see Leo or not?" Eliot snapped, holding a hand to his earpiece. Parker slipped the wallet back into the pants of the man she had just pulled it from and looked around her for the other blonde on the team. Her eyes caught no sight of her though.

"No. She's gone. At least from the party." Parker replied slowly and moved through the crowd. She stopped and stared at the host of the party. "I see Clark though. He doesn't seem to have moved a muscle. Should we snag him and see if he's seen Leo? You know... just in case?"

"No, stay away from him, Parker. I don't think Alan Clark has anything to do with this." Nate commented as he watched Clark with a careful eye. The man seemed... normal. He was talking with a group, laughing. He wasn't acting like a man who had caught a spy or a man that was doing wrong. Nate turned his attention away and looked around the room at all the people. His eyes jumped from one person to the next as an idea slowly crept into his mind. "I'm beginning to think there may be another player on the board that we don't know about."

"Another player? But who? How?" Sophie asked as she looked around the room in a small panic. There were hundreds of people. "Nate, it could be anyone."

"I know, I know... Eliot, Parker; poke around the building, top to bottom. See if you can't find Leona or someone who has seen her." Nate ordered and ran a hand over his mouth. Eliot looked over at Parker, who had walked up beside him, and then out at the people around the room.

"Nate, what are you gonna do?" Eliot asked as he and Parker headed towards the doors of the banquet hall. Nate took a deep breath and huffed as he tried to think of a plan.

"Sophie and I," Nate started and looked around the room again, "We'll stay here and try to figure out who the other player is."

Eliot and Parker walked out of the banquet hall and split up. Parker ran to the stairwell as Eliot walked to the front desk and leaned on the tall counter, staring at the security guard that sat behind it. Eliot stood there for a long moment, waiting for the guard to say something or even notice his existence. Eliot looked around the empty, quiet entrance hall and then looked back at the guard. He waited a moment longer and then cleared his throat. Nothing. Eliot cleared his throat again and the guard looked up for a split second before looking back at the small TV that housed a basketball game.

"How can I help you, sir?" The guard asked patronizingly and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uh, yeah, hi. Um... I seem to have _lost_ my fiance. See, I was talking to Mr. Clark and she kind of disappeared on me. She has a way of doing that. One of the reasons why I love her." Eliot gave a small fake smile, but the guard still didn't look at him. Eliot looked from the guard to the TV and rolled his eyes. "I've looked around the banquet hall and in the parking lot, but she seems to have found a pretty good hiding place inside the building."

Again the guard ignored him and continued to watch his game. Eliot ran a hand roughly over his mouth and pushed himself back from the counter, trying to regain his composure. When he had composed himself he leaned back on the counter and gave the best fake smile he could at the guard that ignored his presence.

"Look, guy," Eliot began and waited a moment, trying to put on the facade of a concerned fiancee, "I haven't seen her in an hour. She's not answering her phone. Now I don't think she would have left the building. Please. Can you help me out here?"

"...what does she look like?" The guard asked as he leaned back in his seat.

"Uh, blonde hair, blue eyes, nice smile, about five seven. She was wearing a blue dress tonight." Eliot reached into his pocket and pulled out Leona's phone. He quickly searched through it's storage, knowing how she loved to take photos. He tapped the first one that had her in it and enlarged it on the screen before showing it to the guard. "See? This is her."

The guard sighed grumpily and removed his eyes from his game once again. He stood up and took the phone from Eliot's hand. He stared at the picture for a long moment and then looked at Eliot from the tops of his eyes.

"That's her?" He asked as he looked over the photo once again. Eliot nodded his head and gave a small, shy laugh. He had the loving, worried fiancee character down.

"Yeah, that's her. That's my Winnie." Eliot smiled and took the phone back from the guard, looking at it with a bright smile. It was of Eliot and Leona sitting on one side of a booth at McRorys Irish Pub one night after a job. Eliot had his arm draped over the back of the booth, his other resting on the table and head peeking out from behind Leona with a smile. Leona looked towards the camera with a wide open smile and bright eyes, arms open wide and leaning back into Eliot. Eliot gave a small laugh and shook his head at the photo.

"Who are the other two in the picture?" The guard asked and leaned on the counter. Eliot looked at the other people in the photo, sitting on the other side of the table. His smile completely left his face and was replaced with a more stern look.

"...her parents." Eliot breathed out and then pocketed his phone in a rush.

"Your fiance: she's a real looker." The guard commented and sat back down in his seat. Eliot's teeth ground together behind the fake smile on his face. "She a model or something?"

"No, she's in finance and she's missing at a very crowded party in a strange city." Eliot rested his elbows on the counter and stared down at the guard.

"You said she was wearing a blue dress?" The guard asked TV and Eliot nodded. "Sparkly? Like glitter almost?"

"Yeah, that's her. She loves her glitter. " Eliot's laugh began to quiet as the conversation became more uncomfortable. "Never goes anywhere... without it... Hey, have you seen her walkin' around anywhere out here?"

"Did you check the bathroom?" He asked slowly as his eyes darted back and forth over the screen. "I saw a woman in a blue, sparkly dress run in that direction. Looked like she was going to be sick... or pass out. Maybe both."

"Hey, man, thank you!" Eliot burst out with and slammed a hand down on the counter. He gave a little hop and jogged off towards the bathrooms. "Nate, the guard at the front desk said he saw her run into the bathroom."

"Alright. Good. Maybe... maybe she just drank too much champagne." Nate replied as he walk towards the bar. He leaned on the counter and waved the bartender down. "Sophie, check the bathroom."

Sophie walked out of the banquet hall and towards the bathroom. Eliot was already there. He stood at the side of the swinging door, leaning against the wall with his an crossed over his chest while the other played with a phone.

"Is that Leona's phone you're fiddlin' with?" Sophie asked and looked at what he was doing. He was flipping through pictures she had taken. Most of them were of the team, together and then just her with each member. The there was her family. Her mother, step-father and younger brother. Then people Eliot didn't recognize; a group of girls in soccer uniforms, Leona with her younger brother and another man.

"Well hello there. Who are you?" Sophie asked as she looked at the photo.

"No idea." Eliot replied.

"He's cute." Sophie spoke up again. Eliot looked up from the phone and at Sophie.

"Shouldn't you be checkin' the bathroom?" He near snapped and shoved the phone into his pocket, crossing his arms over his chest.

"A little touchy aren't we?" Sophie joked as she opened the door. She smiled at Eliot and then walked in slowly. She laced her hands together and crept towards the sink. They were all bone dry.

"Leona?" She called out, but nothing came back. She looked at the wooden doors of the stalls , but couldn't tell if someone was in one or not. "Sweetheart? Are you in here?"

Again, no response. Sophie looked back at the door to the bathroom and then walked closer to the first stall. She knocked lightly on the door and when she heard nothing she opened it to find it was empty. She did this again and again till she found herself at the last stall. She gripped the doorknob tightly and opened then door. Her breath hitched and she slapped a hand over her mouth. She took a step back and looked towards the door to the bathroom, trying to get her words to come out of her mouth.

"Eliot!" Sophie called out and ran to the sinks. Eliot burst into the bathroom and saw Sophie standing before the sinks with her eyes closed and breathing heavily.

"What?" Eliot asked, but Sophie only pointed towards the last stall. Eliot looked in the direction she pointed and then looked back at her as he slowly made his way to the open door. He stopped and stared into the stall. His face went empty.

"Nate?" Eliot called tot he mastermind as he placed a finger on the earpiece in his right ear. "Nate!"

"Yeah, yeah. Did you find her?" Nate asked in a rush and pushed himself away from the bar.

"No." Eliot replied in a gruff voice. He then suddenly shook his head at himself and growled. "I mean... I don't know!"

"What do you mean you don't know? Is she there or isn't she?" Nate gave a harsh laugh as he walked away from the bar. Eliot paused a moment and looked back at the last stall. His face hardened and he grit his teeth.

"She's not here." Eliot started and then fell quiet. "...but her blood is."

Dead silence rang over the com. Nate froze in his spot. Parker stopped her advance up to the next floor. Hardison's fingers ceased their work immediately. No one knew what to say.

"How do you know it's her blood?" Nate asked finally. He had to force his brain to start working again. Eliot didn't reply at first. His eyes were glued on something sitting in the corner of the stall. Slowly he walked inside and bent down before the object.

"Because her purse is here." Eliot replied as he picked up the clutch covered in blood from the ground. He looked around the floor and the wall. Blood was splattered here and there as though a fight had taken place.

"Did- did someone murdered her!" Hardison asked all of a sudden. His voice was filled with fear and unease. "Aw, Hell no. She's dead? Is she dead, Eliot? Is Leona's dead?"

"Shut up! I don't know Hardison." Eliot growled out. He looked over the stall and then looked behind him at the floor tiles outside the stall. "There's no blood anywhere else. Looks like she might have been caught off guard, fought back some maybe. They probably carried her out of the bathroom."

"How would they get passed security carrying a dead girl?" Parker asked as she slunk against the wall in the stairwell.

"Damn it...! We don't know she's dead." Eliot snapped and picked himself up from the floor in a rush. He walked out of the stall and slammed the door, making Sophie jump.

"Professional?" Nate asked slowly as he looked around the room with a careful eye.

"Yeah. They knew exactly what they were doing." Eliot replied as he walked to the sinks where Sophie stood. "Nate... you know what this means."

"Yeah." Nate replied and ran a heavy hand over his mouth before clicking his tongue. "It means someone just pulled one over on us."

"Wait," Parker piped up and pushed herself from the wall, "so there was no job? The whole thing with Clark..?"

"Was fake." Nate stated and shook his head. "It was all fake; the embezzling, the selling arms and security codes to foreign countries. Clark was simply a distraction."

"Someone just played the Red Herring on us?" Sophie breathed out as her eyes darted from left to right on the tiled floor of the bathroom. "How did we not see this?"

"What's the Red Herring?" Hardison asked, trying to focus on something else.

"You give out a misleading clue to divert attention from the real problem or matter at hand." Sophie started and walked out of the bathroom. She couldn't be in there any longer. "In this case, Clark was the misleading clue. Whoever planned this knew we would go after Clark. He planted the evidence, gave us the clues and led us in to get close to Clark. Just so he could get close to Leona."

Eliot growled and pushed open the door to the bathroom roughly. In his free hand was the clutch that he held so tight his knuckles turned white. Hardison closed his eyes and slumped in his chair, rubbing his hands over his face. Parker made her way down the stairs and walked back into the party, finding her way to Nate.

"What's the plan?" Eliot's gruff voice probed through the com.

"There is no plan. We have no idea what we're up against." Nate replied and walked out of the banquet hall with Parker behind him. Eliot and Sophie met up with them in the entrance hall and walked out the front doors, making their way to the parking lot.

"So what then? We're just gonna leave her?" Eliot asked as he tried to keep up with Nate's pace.

"We're not leaving her." Nate argued, frustration and anger rising.

"It sure feels like we are." Hardison retorted and sat up straight in his seat.

"We're not leaving her!" Nate shouted and stopped mid-step. He turned around and faced the team. He looked from one to another and then back again. "We need to be smart about this. This guy's been two moves ahead of us the whole game. We need a plan. We need to know where all the chess pieces are before make a move."

Nate looked around at them all again. Each of them were quiet. Sophie looked to Eliot, who looked to Parker. They were worried. Nate could see that. He could feel that. He was worried himself. They had done some dangerous things before, come into contact with some dangerous people, but this was completely different. They had been led by the hand into a trap and now one of their team members, a friend, was missing; kidnapped. Blood was found where she was last seen and they had no idea who was behind it all.

"So, where do we start?" Sophie asked softly as she looked to Nate for direction. He stared back at her for a long moment and then looked passed .

"Better the Devil you know," Nate began and turned towards the van that sat in the parking lot, "than the one you do not."

"He's doing it again." Parker whispered to Sophie as she watched Nate walk away.

"It's a proverb, Parker." Sophie began as she, Parker and Eliot followed after Nate. "It means it's better to go with the situation that's unpleasant, but that you're familiar with than the situation you aren't familiar with because it may be worse in the end."

"Oh... right!" Parker gave a smile and then a laugh as Sophie walked faster to catch up with Nate. Eliot walked up beside Parker, hands in his pockets and stared straight ahead.

"You didn't understand it, did you?" He asked slowly. "It means the more we know about this guy and what he wants the better off we'll be than goin' in blind."

"I knew that!" Parker gave another obnoxious laugh and slapped Eliot on the arm. Eliot looked at her immediately and scowled.

"There's something wrong with you, Parker." Eliot walked away, but Parker followed after him.

"You know what Leo would say if she were here?" Parker retorted with as she tried to keep up with Eliot. "She'd say I was unique."

Parker gave him a somewhat disturbing Parker smile and passed him. Eliot shook his head and then gave a laugh.

"And then she'd tell me that it was a unique brand of crazy." Eliot whispered to himself and walked up behind the others.

"We're going to head back to my apartment and start on this." Nate called out to the others as he walked to his car parked a little further away in the lot. "We don't stop until we have something on this guy or we have Leona back. Whichever comes first."

"I don't think we're getting Leo back anytime soon." Parker spoke up as Nate climbed into his car. She turned around and looked at the others, a serious expression on her face. The others stared at her a moment and then looked at each other. None of them said anything more. They agreed with Parker, but they couldn't bring themselves to admit it.

* * *

><p>Red Herring - an irrelevant matter, usually one that diverts attention from the true subject; a misleading clue; a diversion.<p>

Please tell me if the story and/or writing is getting better. I always appreciate constructive (polite) criticism!


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